is Bob Marley overrated?

oh i don't think bob marley sold out or anything, obviously he wanted to transcend the confines of the roots community and get the message out to every corner of the world and he couldn't do that with heavy roots, i just don't think pop reggae translates well to dub is all

and sometimes you can't help but think what he could have been had he not chosen the island path to stardom, an album like Survival is a sad document of wasted talent but of course also outselling anything Yabby You ever did by millions

BTW, the Wailers dub album on Tabou is very nice. While recording the Rastaman Vibration album the band cut instrumental versions of many of Bob's songs and then these were dubbed. While they're not THE versions, they are very close and very good.

Yes, that's a nice release ("Dub Marley"), although I very much prefer the original instrumental cuts (included after the dubs) rather than the dubs themselves.

DrSuperlove wrote:an album like Survival is a sad document of wasted talent

Sad document of wasted talent?? In my opinion Survival is better than Natty Dread, Rastaman Vibration, Kaya, Exodus and Confrontation. Tunes like Africa Unite, Zimbabwe, Ride Natty Ride, One Drop, Survival are all tunes I rate among the best of Marley's Island period.

"Survival" is probably the only real full roots LP on Blackwell's Island label. It had more of the true 'Tuff Gong' sound than all previous releases, right down to the unforgettable sleeve. Going by the production, it was more a Jamaican sounding record than any of the others on Island.

More 7" JA singles with versions or dubs got JA release from this LP than any other, while Island pressed up a number of the other titles on 12" disco. "Survival" was easily the least commercial Blackwell backed release of them all, and all the better for it, that is if you prefer that solid Tuff Gong One Drop roots sound.

The first I knew of Bob was during the Island period when I started reading articles about him in the NME and then seeing him on Whistle Test on the BBC. I still have total respect for his work. I don't play the Island stuff very often nowadays but still enjoy most of it when I do.

What i love now is the earlier stuff. Think I could listen to Go Jimmy Go every day for the rest of my life and never get fed up of it...........and same goes for Judge Not.

Bob Marley could never be overrated. I can't think of a more skilled, relevant, piercing, haunting, powerful music master. His legacy grows stronger every year, and rightfully so. Even where English is not spoken, much less Rastafari Jamaican patois, his sounds and image have come to symbolize human rights & justice. "You will know them by their fruits."

There are plenty of valid complaints with the way Marley is marketed, mislabelled. misused and misunderstood. Few, if any of them, are his fault.

I can't stand when people seemingly worship the man himself. You don't have to dig too deeply into his life to see he was quite clearly a human man with human faults. How could any of us criticize that? There sure seems to be a true cult of Bob. It's not just the frat boys with their Legend CD's and beer kegs. It reminds me of the way Martin Luther King is often remembered simply for his "I have a dream" speech. It only scratches the surface of some deep, resonating brain food. There's nothing wrong with liking Marley for the shallowest of reasons. Just be advised, there's a depth there accessible to anyone who truly seeks it.

Bob Marley and Martin Luther King will stand for all time as two of the greatest 20th century human beings

Everyone on this earth would do themselves a great favor to study what either of these men were really trying to do for the planet and it's people